Freedom Box, decentralized social network called Diaspora.

I have been thinking about this for 20 years. The price for servers has dropped below $99 so it is feasible. People can host their websites, blogs, email servers on their own home cheaply and communicate privately without interference of spies, hackers, or tyrants. Cheaper than 1und1.de but not as reliable 24×7 uptime. Goodbye, Facebook. Goodbye Google ads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Box FreedomBox is a community project to develop, design and promote personal servers running free software for distributed social networking, email and audio/video communications. On February 4, 2011, Moglen formed the FreedomBox Foundation to become the organizational headquarters of the project and on February 18, 2011, the foundation started a campaign. On March 19, 2011, the campaign ended after collecting $86,724 from 1,007 backers. FreedomBox The project currently describes a FreedomBox as “a personal server running a free software operating system, with free applications designed to create and preserve personal privacy.” The developers aim to create and preserve personal privacy by providing a secure platform for building federated social networks. This shall be done by creating a software stack that can run on plug computers that can easily be located in individual residences or offices. By promoting a decentralized deployment of hardware, the project hopes that FreedomBoxes will “provide privacy in normal life, and safe communications for people seeking to preserve their freedom in oppressive regimes.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug_computer Plug computers typically consume little power and are inexpensive. One manufacturer claims its $119 plug computer draws 1.2 watts and can cost $2 a year to run. The low cost of plug computers has led to a proposed “Freedom Box”, an always-on home server configured to keep communication private in the face of government surveillance. A number of other devices in this form factor began to appear at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show.

http://www.webcitation.org/mainframe.php The list begins with “cheap, small, low-power plug servers,” Mr. Moglen said. “A small device the size of a cellphone charger, running on a low-power chip. You plug it into the wall and forget about it.” Almost anyone could have one of these tiny servers, which are now produced for limited purposes but could be adapted to a full range of Internet applications “They will get very cheap, very quick,” Mr. Moglen said. “They’re $99; they will go to $69. Once everyone is getting them, they will cost $29.” The missing ingredients are software packages, which are available at no cost but have to be made easy to use. “You would have a whole system with privacy and security built in for the civil world we are living in,” he said. “It stores everything you care about.” Put free software into the little plug server in the wall, and you would have a Fre